Elie Wiesel's novel, Night, is a powerful work of Holocaust literature that deals with the experiences of young Eliezer as he and his family are captured and sent to Auschwitz. Written in 1955, Night is considered to be one of the most profound books to deal with the trauma, despair, and inhumanity of the Holocaust.
Eliezer, the narrator of the book, is a young boy living in a small Jewish town in rural Hungary. Eliezer's family is relatively safe in their small village—until one night in 1944, when the Nazis arrive on the scene. Eliezer and his family are herded into a train like animals and transported to Auschwitz concentration camp.
The horrors of Auschwitz and the Nazi regime quickly become apparent. Eliezer and his father, Shlomo, are separated from the rest of their family. They are forced to endure brutal living conditions, near-starvation, and backbreaking labor. Any trace of humanity or kindness is violently suppressed by the Nazis and the other inmates. Alongside his father, Eliezer must grapple with the complete lack of freedom and his own mortality.
As the novel progresses, Eliezer must also come to terms with the fact that his faith in God is slipping away. In spite of the violence and suffering around him, Eliezer continues to seek divine intervention, but he comes to increasingly doubt that there is any sort of higher power looking over him. He questions why good people are made to suffer and why God would allow this to happen.
Eliezer eventually arrives at Birkenau, an extermination camp, along with his father and a few other inmates. The men muster up the courage to try to escape, but the attempt fails and Eliezer's father is killed in the process. As Eliezer struggles to survive, he contemplates the sheer horror of what he has endured and questions what makes humans capable of such cruelty.
Eliezer is eventually liberated from the camps, though many of his friends and family did not make it out alive. Now an adult, Eliezer looks back on the tragic experiences of his childhood and articulates the importance of memorializing the Holocaust. He implores readers to never forget the atrocities of the Holocaust in the hopes that such evil may never be repeated.
Night is an intense and unflinching account of Eliezer's experience in Auschwitz and is considered to be one of the most important works of Holocaust literature. Eliezer's story of horror, despair, and ultimate survival serves as a reminder of the brutality of fascism and the suffering of millions. More than anything, Night is an urgent call to remember those who were lost and to prevent any future acts of genocide.
